The University of Arizona
Department of Surgery
 


Rainer W.G. Gruessner, MD

Chairman, Department of Surgery
Chief, Division of Abdominal Transplant
Director, HepatoPancreaticoBiliary Center
Chief, Division of General Surgery
Professor of Surgery and Immunology

Contact Information

Surgery Administration: PO Box 245066; Tucson, Arizona 85724-5066
Arizona Health Science Center: 1501 N. Campbell Ave.
Office Room Number
4410
Office Phone
(520) 626-4409
Office Fax
(520) 626-9118

Practice Locations

Patient Appointments
(520) 694-1000; (520) 626-4409
Clinics 
Multispecialty Surgery Clinic, UMC Fifth Floor, 1501 N Campbell Ave, Tucson AZ 85724
Clinic Fax
(520) 694-6101
Hospitals 
The University of Arizona Medical Center - University Campus

Clinical

Clinical Specialties

Abdominal transplants
General surgery, including surgery for chronic pancreatitis
Surgical oncology - Liver, bile duct and pancreatic tumors

Clinical achievements:
First standardized technique for living donor intestinal transplants (1997)
First laparoscopic living donor distal pancreatectomy (2000)
First living donor liver transplant, first living donor intestine transplant, first combined liver and intestine transplant from living and deceases donors, first split liver transplants – all in Minnesota
First living and deceased intestinal transplants, first multivisceral transplant, first autologous islet transplant – all in AZ

Board Certification
German Association of Surgery 1990

Education

MD: 1983 School of Medicine, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universitat, Mainz, Germany
1983, Doctoral Thesis (summa cum laude), School of Medicine, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universitat, Mainz, Germany
1991, Professorial Thesis ("Habilitation") and appointment as Senior Lecturer ("Privatdozent"), Philipps-Universität, Marburg, Germany
Residency 
1983-1987 General Surgery, Johannes-Gutenberg-Universitat, Mainz, Germany
Fellowship 
1987-1989, Transplantation Surgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Additional Training 
1989-1990, Clinical Training in Vascular Surgery, Philipps-Universitat, Marburg, Germany; 1996, Clinical Training in Living Donor Liver Transplantation, Kyoto University Hospital, Kyoto, Japan

Research

  • Surgical and transplant options for patients with end-stage liver, pancreas, kidney and intestinal failure from benign and malignant diseases
  • Pancreas, islet and kidney transplantation for the treatment of diabetes mellitus and its secondary complications
  • Chronic pancreatitis and islet transplants
  • Pancreas and liver cancer
  • Risk analysis and quality control of benign and malignant disorders of the pancreas, liver, and intestine
  • Tolerance induction using donor-specific cell augmentation

 

Publications

Dr. Gruessner has authored and coauthored about 500 publications and published abstracts and 70 book chapters.

» View publications on PubMed\

Textbooks:

Living Donor Organ Transplantation

Transplantation of the Pancreas

 

 

Patient Information